Garden Botanica

Not this past weekend but the one before there was a small Garden Expo going on at the local Botanical Gardens.



I'll take ANY excuse to go and visit the Coffs Harbour Botanical Gardens, which I honestly think is one of the nicest ones I've been in; it's a surprisingly large space with just a massive variety of plants and flowers and wetlands. Really beautifully laid out and well taken care of.

The Expo itself was really nice; very small, maybe 150-200 people showed up to it I think; there were discussions and lectures scattered around. I listened in to most of them including an AMAZING talk on no-dig garden system which seemed so incredibly fool-proof I desperately wish I could have come right home and given it a go; alas I don't have the space, time or ways to protect a decent, sunny garden from the marauding kangaroos and rabbits which are a constant menace!
It's definitely been stored into the back of my head though for when I (finally, eventually) get a place of my own with PLENTY of space to grow a fruitful veggie patch. (Well I can dream, can't I?)


(forgive me for not reducing the size down, it seemed like a bit of a crime to me)

I spent my day wandering from talk to talk, browsing the sparse stalls that interested me (as I am not a home owner myself, eco-friendly flooring just doesn't do anything for me...) There was a handful of folks selling seedlings though including one lady who had some of the most beautiful veggies and herbs I've ever seen. I caved and bought a couple replacement herbs that had died out from my Mum's pots over the winter (Thyme, Basil, Parsley) aaaand I bought myself a pair of heirloom tomato seedlings called "Black Beauty". I was sorely tempted to buy some of her lettuces (there were over twenty varieties!!!) But budget was more then limited.
So instead of tempting myself further I took a good long walk through the gardens.



I then rushed home and planted my new seedlings and happily everything is REALLY taking off (especially the tomatos and basil!)
Expect to see lots of beautiful photos from the gardens over the next week, I'll share a little bit at a time.

Getting Back into Rhythmn

Belly-dancing is a new hobby I've picked up this past year; I'm one of the most ungraceful people you can imagine so it's a huge challenge for me, but I really enjoy it!
Unfortunately I was forced to take a couple of months break as my instructor had to take some time off from teaching to take some University classes.

But now she is holding lessons again! Hooray! Tonight was the first class of the new session.

Goodness do I feel ungraceful and out of practice especially since it seems like most of the other girls in the class are people she's been teaching for a long time and/or are in her dance troop. Oh well, it's still a lot of fun. I'm learning to laugh at myself!

Practice, Practice, Practice!

National Music Month: Sarah Blasko

Australian Singer/songwriter Sarah Blasko



Because I love me a good stompy, angry piano!
I also love the animation for this video, in particular the ocean.

I'm celebrating National Australian Music Month with Triple j! I hope you find some new music you like!

Things to Remember: Most Important Thing

"The most important thing you'll ever know is how to love and be loved in return."
Width: 10 cm (4”)
Height: 25 cm (9.75”)
Upcycled doily with cotton hand-embroidered message.
FOR SALE HERE.



This one took a longer time then all the previous ones; the satin stitching lettering goes a lot slower and this one had many many finicky letters.



I was watching the Moulin Rogue the day before starting this one, it's one of my favourite lines from the film!

A Bit of a Disaster

In typical Australian fashion, earlier this week it went from "World is on Fire!" to "Ohai I Heard U Like Rainz!"
Which is to say it's gone from hot and dry and crispy to sudden floods. After the rains passed on I found my poor dear cherry tomato pot absolutely flooded with water; what a hard way to discover your pot doesn't have very good drainage! Just goes to show that I'm still very much a n00b gardener.



I've drained the pot and added in larger drainage holes, but I have a feeling the damage to the roots is already done. I've been really REALLY enjoying these tomatos as well, they're as sweet as candy!



Not everything suffored from the rain though; in fact it's done wonders for the heirloom tomato seedlings I bought the other weekend as well as the basil!



In fact except for that cherry tomato plant, everything seems to be prospering after the much-needed rains.
Just a bit of a hard lesson to learn; always check the bottom of your pots!!

Things to Remember: Live. Laugh. Love.

"Live. Laugh. Love."
Diameter: 20 cm (8”)
Upcycled doily with cotton hand-embroidered message.
FOR SALE HERE.

National Music Month: AC/DC

So Triple j is celebrating November as National Australian Music Month.
I spent today cleaning house rocking out to all-Australian tunes from the radio and I was really enjoying myself!

I thought that I'd take on a little mini-challenge to post a song by an Australian band each day of the month in celebration with Triple j, there's certainly a wealth to chose from!
I have a wide range of taste in music so I'm sure there'll be something to please everyone.



I figured I would start with one EVERYONE should know (if not, what rock have YOU been living under?!)
AC/DC is probably one of the greatest musical gifts given to the rest of the world, and Thunderstruck by far is my favourite song of theirs!